Lavalier, Louise Francoise de

Louise was born on August 6, 1644 in the French city of Tours in a poor large family. Since childhood, she loved horses, and this love led to the fact that at the age of 11 she fell off her horse, broke her leg and damaged her spine, so she limped all her life. This physical disability affected her character. Louise grew up as a meek, silent child, tried to stay quiet and even then wanted to leave for the monastery.

The girl’s distant relative, the Duchess de Saint-Remy, recommended her to Queen Anne of Austria as a maid of honor to the Duchess of Orleans, Henrietta Stewart . Having entered the service of the duchess, Louise, who by that time was not distinguished by beauty, being thin and pale, and having traces of smallpox on her face, managed to charm the king, a great lover of women, with her good looks and friendly disposition. In addition, she received a good education, was smart and well-read. Louis, fascinated by the charming creature, began to write her gentle letters, give gifts and diamonds. Thanks to Louise, revived from the time of the king’s father, Louis XIII , Versailles came to life, where balls and banquets were now held in honor of the beloved monarch. In 1667, Louis elevated to the duchy of the estate of Vojure , two baronies (in Touraine and Anjou ) and presented them to Louise as a sign of his location. A little later, he made his beloved a duchess and assigned her the status of an official favorite . Chastity de Lavalier was hurt, now everyone knew that she was the king's lover. Louise repented for her fall, and at court she was called "saint" for this.

Slowly, the king began to cool to Louise, in 1667 she was overshadowed by the new favorite of Louis Marquis Francoise Atenais de Montespan . Having decided to mock the Duchess de Lavalier, Louis in 1669 placed Louise and Francoise in adjacent chambers in the Saint-Germain Palace , where both women were supposed to create the appearance of friendly relations. And in 1673, when Madame de Montespan had a fourth child from the king, the daughter of Louise Francoise , he forced the former lover to become a godmother. Having no longer suffered the bullying of the king, in April 1675, Louise de Lavalier retired from the French court and got a haircut at the Carmelite monastery in Paris , under the name of Louise de la Miséricorde .

She lived in the monastery for 36 years, striking the nuns with her tolerance and endurance. When Louise died on June 7, 1710, they said that her body was fragrant and was surrounded by a halo.

From the king, Louise de Lavalier gave birth to four children, of whom two survived to adulthood:

• Charles de Bourbon (December 19, 1663 - July 15, 1665);
• Philippe de Bourbon (January 7, 1665 - 1666);
• Marie Anna de Bourbon (October 2, 1666 - May 3, 1739) - Mademoiselle de Blois. In 1680 she married Louis Arman I de Bourbon-Conti , in 1685 she was widowed;
• Louis de Bourbon (October 2, 1667 - November 18, 1683) - since 1669, Count of Vermandois and Admiral of France.

• Réflexions sur la miséricorde de Dieu (Reflections on the Mercy of God, Paris, 1685).

Fiction

• Louise de Lavalier has a significant place in Dumas novel " Viscount de Brazhelon, or Ten Years Later ."
• He is one of the characters in the series " Angelica " Ann and Serge Golon .

Cinema

• Marion Martin - The Man in the Iron Mask ( USA ; 1939 ) directed by James Whale .
• Francoise Ponti - The seizure of power by Louis XIV / La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV ( France ; 1966 ) directed by Roberto Rossellini .

• Jenny Egatter - The Man in the Iron Mask ( Great Britain , USA ; 1977 ) directed by Mike Newell.
• Fabienne Tricotte - The Way of the King / L'allée du roi ( France; 1996 ) directed by Nina Kompaneets .
• Evgenia Kryukova - The Return of the Musketeers, or Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin (Russia ; 2009 ) directed by Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich
• Sarah Winter - Versailles / Versailles (Canada; France; 2015)

Animated Films

• One of the main characters in the light novel Zero no Tsukaima , authored by Noboru Yamaguchi, is named Louise de Lavalier in honor of the character Dumas.

• Lavallier, Louise-Francoise // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.